⋆˖⁺‧₊☽my immortal☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

one of my fav time capsules from the 2000s that is left on the internet is the fanfiction my immortal. despite the contents of the story being a confusing shit show, the references, the slang, the attitude of the author, everything down to the user name is a relic of a very niche side of mid 00s scene and emo life on the internet and i think that's part of the reason it has amassed a cult fanbase now days. i truly think it captures such a specific side of the internet at the time that cannot be recreated, that modern day social media has left people subconsciously yearning for, and fulfils the nostalgia that nothing else can. 

The 2000s was a time when the internet was still very much in the process of forming its cultural identity. Social media was not yet as all-encompassing as it is now, and communities were fragmented into niche groups, message boards and chat rooms. One of the most prominent subcultures to emerge in this online space was the emo and goth scenes. emo kids took over the internet pretty fast, with things like my space, and forums, and more unfortunately, this fanfic.

my immortal is a fanfiction loosely based in the Harry Potter universe that was being published on Fanfiction.net by "XXXbloodyrists666XXX" through out 2006 until its 44th chapter left it incomplete in 2007, and the author became entirely inactive. this piece of internet folk-lore has gathered a following, all invested in the story behind what some believe to be a satirical impersonation of fanfic culture, and others think is a capture of 2000s online subcultures through what is famously considered "the worst piece of writing ever created". 

Rife with plot flaws, spelling errors, and almost entirely inaccurate to the harry potter universe its based in, the story follows the protagonist, Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way, who the author claims is based on herself, as well as her co-writers self insert Willow, who's real name is Raven. It's self narrated using a lot of internet slang used by scene and emo subcultures at the time, with the authors note at the start of chapter one reading "AN: Special fangz (get it, coz Im goffik) 2 my gf (ew not in that way) raven, bloodytearz666 4 helpin me wif da story and spelling. U rok! Justin ur da luv of my deprzzing life u rok 2! MCR ROX!" 

each chapter started with an authors note defending her story from the criticism of "the prepz" saying things like "AN: wel ok u guyz im only writting dis cuz I got 5 god reviuws. n BTW I wont rite da nxt chapter til I git TIN god vons! STO FLAMING OR ILL REPORT U! Evony isn't a Marie Sue ok she isn't perfect SHES A SATANITS! n she has problemz shes depressed 4 godz sake!" or "AN: STOP FLAMMING DA STORY PREPZ OK! odderwize fangs 2 da goffik ppl 4 da good reveiws! FANGS AGEN RAVEN! oh yeah, BTW I don't own dis or da lyrics 4 Good Chralotte." all of these are followed by the story of Ebony and her tumultuous relationship with her love interest, Draco Malfoy, while dealing with the constant drama of school life, including encounters with the dark wizard Voldemort and his followers. The story is filled with numerous plot twists, including Ebony's frequent romantic entanglements, her complicated friendships, and a bizarre mix of characters from both the Harry Potter series which she entirely re-writes and original creations. Throughout the fanfic, Ebony wrestles with various emotional conflicts, magical battles, and a heavy dose of angst. The writing is awkward, humorous, and unintentionally absurd, making it a cult phenomenon among fans of fanfiction.

this almost all takes place using the same references through out, riddled with typos and plot inconsistencies, all with angsty characters and the glorification of being "misunderstood", however there is an anomaly in chapter 39 that has come to be referred to as "the imposter chapters" along with chapter 40, where the tone shifts and the spelling becomes more accurate. the authors note on chapter 39 reads "AN// I am an extremely immature pathetic idiot girl, I know. Out of boredom, I crack this girl's passy for fun (and it took less than 8 minutes to do it too) and will probably get in a shitload of trouble. Which I probably deserve 'cause I'm being a troll right now. Meh. And I present to you MY crappy part in this story. (And take note I haven't even finished reading this fic yet, but instead skip over to skim chapter 38.) Flame, laugh, do whatever you want "preps."" chapter 40 is titled by and has a quick note from the imposter saying they are posting what the real author had already written for the next chapter, before the story returns to its original style. chapter 41 has a sentence addressing the hacker in the authors note, "neway sum1 hakked in2 mi akkount in November and dey put up my last chaptah but now der is a new 1."

after this only three more chapter were released before radio silence. this iconic fanfic became the subject to much speculation; is it satire, who truly wrote it, who was the imposter. regardless i think everyone should read my immortal (the real fanfic was taken down from fanfiction.net, but its all on archive of our own), it's an iconic fanfiction and an experience that can never be recreated.